Trump Doubles Down: Armed Citizens Prevent Paris-Style ‘Carnage’

On December 1 Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump doubled down on the Second Amendment, suggesting that armed citizens prevent Paris-style “carnage.”

Trump was speaking in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire.

After a few opening remarks, Trump spoke about gun rights:

One of the things I bring up, and I bring it up all the time, is the Second Amendment. Because, when you look at that slaughter that took place–Paris is one of the toughest guns zones, you can’t have a gun. France also, you can’t have a gun. It’s virtually impossible to get one. And you look at those places where it was carnage, it was horrible; a horrible thing to watch and a horrible thing to see….I can tell you, if people in that room–some of them, you don’t need too many…[if they had had guns] they would have had a couple of killings but it wouldn’t have been the good buys, it would have been the bad guys.

Trump went on to talk about the Marines and sailor who were gunned down while unarmed in a military gun free zone in Chattanooga on July 16. He pledged an end to military gun free zones, saying “that’s going to end immediately” once he assumes office.

He also talked about shootings in school gun free zones, which he described as demonstrable failures. Such zones offer no resistance to gunmen. Rather, they provide a place that deranged or evil persons can go for “target practice.”

Trump observed, “You people who want to hurt the Second Amendment” and “weaken it,” which is all wrong. He said the correct approach is to “cherish and protect our Second Amendment.” And Trump said he will be “the best” at doing that.